“There were so many elements of surprise for us on the day which made it so much more special than knowing everything before hand. “
The couple: Shannon & Charl Theron
Length of engagement: 2 years | Wedding date: 27th January 2015
Wedding location: Pointenhof, St Johann, Austria | Photographer: Gerhard G
Wedding coordinator: Weddings by Kajsa, Austria
We met… Charl and I have been friends for many years as he lived in the house behind us. So he was the typical ‘boy next door’!
Our proposal… Charl proposed to me on a gondola in Venice. I know it sounds very romantic but in actual fact he was such a nervous wreck and was on edge so much so it almost turned into an argument trying to get me on the gondola. I actually thought he had fallen in the gondola instead of getting down on one knee! It took me awhile to register he was on one knee as by that time I was so annoyed by his edginess. Regardless, I look back on that day and laugh!
My wedding dress… I am a “no fuss” kind of girl, so hired my dress from a local South African (where I live) dress shop. I didn’t want the added pressure of dress fittings and the worry of it turning out to be something I was not happy with.
His suit… was bought from Tiger Of Sweden two weeks before the wedding. Luckily it needed no alterations.
Our ceremony… Was private and very intimate. It was held on one of the main ski slopes in St Johann outside Pointenhof hotel and restaurant.
We chose our wedding coordinator because… Our coordinator Kajsa Reisenbauer (Weddings by Kajsa) was recommended to us by a friend who lives in St Johann. After seeing her previous weddings and all the positive ratings she received, we were very impressed.
We chose our photographer because… We had seen some of his previous wedding shoots and we trusted our wedding planner immensely!
We chose our venue because…Once again, we had immense trust in our coordinator. It is very difficult planning and choosing wedding venues, flowers, décor etc when you live in another country! We explained the kind of ceremony we were looking for and the atmosphere we wanted and Kajsa provided it all.
Our wedding theme/colours… We wanted something as natural as possible that would blend in seamlessly with the surroundings. We decided on using white with a lot of wood and natural plant greenery.
Our menu… The talented Pointenhof Chef came up with our menu. It was divine!
My favourite part of the wedding day… It would be impossible for me to choose. Everything was perfect and just the way we wanted it.
Our honeymoon… No honeymoon needed when you have a destination wedding like ours.
My piece of advice for other brides… Wedding planner, wedding planner, wedding planner! Choose a planner that comes highly recommended and trust her advice (after all, they know what works best at weddings). I cannot begin to tell you how easy the wedding process and planning was from my side. I gave Kajsa a few ideas as to what I like and let her know that I didn’t want too much say in the details. Kajsa reported in every few weeks to make sure we were both on the same page and the result was more than I could ever ask for. There were so many elements of surprise for us on the day which made it so much more special than knowing everything before hand. Keep it simple, keep it small with no fuss and no stress.
